Thank You to Everyone for Making Me the Children's Choice Book Awards "Author of the Year"

RUSH: Ladies and gentlemen, you are listening to your harmless, lovable, little fuzzball host, Rush Limbaugh, well-known radio raconteur bon vivant, and now children's book Author of the Year. The awards were handed out last night by the Children's Book Council, and I want to take a moment here to thank everyone in the audience, particularly the young people who voted. This is an award where the readers determine the winners.

Kathryn and I flew up after the program yesterday to New York for the awards banquet, the event. This is the seventh annual. It's relatively new, and it's combined with the children's literacy project, and what a great evening. It was a wonderful event, and I had, honestly, to make sure you understand, no expectation of winning this thing. When they announced my name I was momentarily frozen. We were sitting in the front row with a couple people from Simon & Schuster, the well known publishing house. Mitchell Ivers and Jean Anne Rose, they were there with us. It was just a really, really nice event.

I have to tell you, there were so many immigrants that came up to me before the event started, when everybody was being seated and during the event, and they were telling me what coming to America meant to them. One of them was the photographer, one of the official photographers for the event. There were a lot of people that were working the event that came up and wanted me to understand how much America had meant to them, and it was really great.

Now, we've got at RushLimbaugh.com and over at our Facebook page, we have posted the video of my acceptance remarks. They gave every award winner two minutes. It's a children's book event, and if you want to hear a funny story, it's scheduled to run from 6 to 8 p.m., basically. They do dinner at 6, 6:15, and then at 7 to 7:15 everybody's supposed to be seated. Well, we landed right at 6 o'clock. So we hustled off the plane, got in the car, and my security guy Joseph Stalin's phone rings. I hear him say, "Yeah? Really? Oh. Well, is it still on?"

I said, "Oh, no, what's happened?"

So he completes the call and said what happened. He said, "There's a fire in the building and they're evacuating everybody."

I said, "Oh, no! They think I'm there already."

It turns out it was a minor little smoke thing in the basement of this building. It was near Chinatown and Little Italy in lower Manhattan in an old, giant building that used to be a Bowery Bank branch. It was really decked out, tastefully, really, really well done. The ceremony had some kids singing songs before it and afterwards. The presentation of the awards was really well done. Two years ago this is the last place I would have ever expected to be. Two years ago the last thing I would have ever expected to have done would have been writing books aimed at children ages 10 to 13. But you know the story, they're actually for everybody, the books are, but primarily children's books.

So I want to play for you the video of all this, as I say, at RushLimbaugh.com that we're also posting at TwoIfByTea.com and our Facebook page. We've got the audio here for you and I want to play the introduction, the intro of me and winning the Author of the Year award, is what I won. It was presented by the executive director, Robin Adelson of the Children's Book Council and Every Child a Reader. She's the executive director and here is her presentation listing all the nominees and the winner.

ADELSON: If any of the contenders for Author of the Year comes as a surprise to you, maybe you haven't been paying attention to their audiences. They certainly have. The books that put their authors on this list covered the subjects kids and teens like most. There's mythology, wimpiness, dorkiness, dauntlessness, and a snarky talking horse that travels back through time. Each book on this list and each author has a mind-boggling fan base. They came out in droves to vote for their favorites.

ANNOUNCER: The Children's Choice Book Awards finalists for the Author of the Year are Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck. (applause) Rush Limbaugh, Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims: Time-Travel Adventures with Exceptional Americans. (applause) Rick Riordan, The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus, Book 4). (applause) Veronica Roth, Allegiant. (applause) Rachel Renee Russell, Dork Diaries 6: Tales from a Not-So-Happy Heartbreaker. (applause)

ADELSON: I've been doing this seven years; I've never gotten to open one of these envelopes. And the winner is, Author of the Year, Rush Limbaugh, for Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims: Time-Travel Adventures With Exceptional Americans. (music)

RUSH: Yes, folks, you're hearing applause there. So I stood up, I'm in the front row, I stood up, I'm looking at everybody and I'm sort of in disbelief. I pause for a couple of pictures for the photographer, the immigrant who must have told me three or four times just how proud he was to come to America and how much it had meant to him coming here. I posed for him a couple times. I made my way to the stage, and they'd given us two minutes. They asked everybody to keep it at two minutes. I am a highly trained professional in these matters, I came in at 2:10, folks, two minutes and 10 seconds, and here it is.

RUSH ACCEPTANCE SPEECH: This is unexpected, but it's a thrill. On behalf of Rush Revere and his talking horse, Liberty, time-traveling, I want to thank all the children who voted and who've read the books. And I have to tell you how they came about. The late Vince Flynn, noted thriller author, had been after me to write another book. I'd written two previously way back in the early nineties. And it was one of those things I said, "Ah, Vince, I've done that. I'm not really excited about doing it."

He kept pushing me and he kept pushing me to do it. And finally my wife, Kathryn, said, "You know, you really care about history. You care about people learning American history, about kids learning American history. Why don't you write some kids' books? Why don't you try that?" That lit my fire, because I'd never done that before. That was a new challenge. That was something to try. And it was invigorating, and it was something about which I'm very, very passionate.

I love America. I wish everybody did. I hope everybody will. It's one of the most fascinating stories of human history, this country and what it has meant to the world and what it means to citizens who live here. And it's a delight and it's an opportunity to try to share that story with young people so that they can grow and learn to love and appreciate the country in which they're growing up and will someday run and lead and inherit.

So I want to thank everybody that's made this possible.

It genuinely is a thrill. This is a tremendous event. I'm so honored by this. I'm honored to be here among all of you and all of the other nominees for this and the other categories. It's just a wonderful evening, and I thank everybody who had anything to do with it, particularly the kids who voted in every category. It is a great project that you have going here, children's literacy and to expand it. And the organization and the work that you're doing is just profound. And I'm honored and humbled to be a small, little part of it. Thank you all very much. This is tremendous.

AUDIENCE: (applause)

RUSH: And it was, folks. It was a big deal. It really was. It was a much bigger deal than I thought it was gonna be, and I don't mean to imply that I thought it was small and insignificant. It was just so well done, highly professional, and this group is very serious about their charter, which is children's literacy. To win this award, I'm telling you, it's a very humbling thing because the readers -- kids -- vote, and it's such great feedback.

I have to tell you, there's a mission behind these books, and that is to teach the truth of American history to people. I do. I love this country. I do wish everybody did. There are parts of me that don't understand people that don't like this country. The intellectual side of me understands why, when you factor ideology and so forth, but it is without parallel. This country, in human history, is as unique as anything in human history is.

It's worth appreciating, it's worth learning the truth about, and that's getting harder and harder to do. Everything's politicized these days, and everything has an agenda, it seems, and the truth of American history doesn't need to be changed. It doesn't need to be jazzed up. It doesn't need to be colored in any way. It doesn't need to be exaggerated in order for it to make an impact.

American history is profound. The people who came here originally -- discovered, founded, explored, built this country -- are some of the most incredible people who've ever lived. And they are worth knowing. What they did is worth understanding and appreciating. And that's the objective of these books. So we have this time-traveling horse, which is able to take Rush Revere -- the official icon of Two If By Tea. He's a substitute teacher.

And they're able to go anywhere in American history. That's the vehicle that was created to write the books, and the reader is taken to each seminal event and is part of the event while it's happening, with the prominent figures in American history explaining why they're doing what they're doing, why they're devoted to what they're devoted to. They're adventures. Time-Travel Adventures with Exceptional Americans is exactly what it is.

And the reader is taken right to these events, and the people that made these events, that made them possible -- the people that live these events -- relive them for the reader. And what we've found is that people -- adults -- are reading the books and learning things they didn't know. We got a call yesterday from grandparents who are reading with their children and grandchildren. It's the exact mission.

And to be recognized after just the first book like this by this group is... I'm highly appreciative, and I have to give a shout-out to Robin Adelson. Again, she's the executive director of the Children's Book Council, Every Child a Reader. She put the event together, and she ran it, and it came off without a hitch. It was exceptionally well done. When I was up there on stage and I was going through my remarks, you know, I had a mental picture of all of you, knowing that you were gonna eventually hear what I said.

I wanted to make sure I got the appreciation out and so that everybody understood that I know why I won. And I really take the occasion here of my program today to thank you again, deeply. Kathryn does, too. You know, there's a lot of people that put these books together, the illustrators. There's a lot of research to get it right. These books are not something that just one person could do effectively. One person could do it, but not effectively.

I couldn't illustrate it, so one person couldn't do it, and we have a lot of people contributing here to make these things as accurate and as good. There's a lot of editing that goes on, a lot of rewriting, and it's all a labor of love because it's a passion that everybody involved cares about, and that is this country and having everybody -- as many people as possible -- learn to love and appreciate the genuine profundity that is the United States of America.

And to be recognized like this? That, to me, was big.

We're just thrilled, and I take the occasion here to thank everybody again.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: I want to thank the Fox & Friends people today. They acknowledged the Author of the Year award that I received last night at the Children's Book Council.

KILMEADE: Rush Limbaugh named children's book Author of the Year. He was awarded the honor by the Children's Book Council despite liberals being outraged he was even nominated. Take that. Good job, Rush. And his book, Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims is the reason why he got that award. Good job.

DOOCY: Way to go, El Rushbo.

RUSH: That was Brian Kilmeade and Steve Doocy. (interruption) Where's the award? The award's out in my car. It's in the passenger side backseat of the car. I tell you what, I'll go get it during -- (interruption) I just got asked if I'm gonna be taxed. Well, I mean there's gonna be a record of me being in New York for about six hours. It's not work. Is it work going up and getting an award? You wait, they'll say it was. There was no cash award. No, there's no cash award. It's just an award. It's a plaque. It's a really nice glass plaque. I'll go get it at the top of the hour.

I've been resisting this, but I'm being inundated with requests to replay my acceptance speech, so I guess I'll do that now. It's just two minutes, 10 seconds. They gave us a two-minute limit, and I came in at 2:10.

RUSH ACCEPTANCE SPEECH: This is unexpected, but it's a thrill. On behalf of Rush Revere and his talking horse, Liberty, time-traveling, I want to thank all the children who voted and who've read the books. And I have to tell you how they came about. The late Vince Flynn, noted thriller author, had been after me to write another book. I'd written two previously way back in the early nineties. And it was one of those things I said, "Ah, Vince, I've done that. I'm not really excited about doing it."

He kept pushing me and he kept pushing me to do it. And finally my wife, Kathryn, said, "You know, you really care about history. You care about people learning American history, about kids learning American history. Why don't you write some kids' books? Why don't you try that?" That lit my fire, because I'd never done that before. That was a new challenge. That was something to try. And it was invigorating, and it was something about which I'm very, very passionate.

I love America. I wish everybody did. I hope everybody will. It's one of the most fascinating stories of human history, this country and what it has meant to the world and what it means to citizens who live here. And it's a delight and it's an opportunity to try to share that story with young people so that they can grow and learn to love and appreciate the country in which they're growing up and will someday run and lead and inherit.

So I want to thank everybody that's made this possible.

It genuinely is a thrill. This is a tremendous event. I'm so honored by this. I'm honored to be here among all of you and all of the other nominees for this and the other categories. It's just a wonderful evening, and I thank everybody who had anything to do with it, particularly the kids who voted in every category. It is a great project that you have going here, children's literacy and to expand it. And the organization and the work that you're doing is just profound. And I'm honored and humbled to be a small, little part of it. Thank you all very much. This is tremendous.

AUDIENCE: (applause)

RUSH: You'll note that Cookie didn't edit the applause. Well, she edited a little bit there, but that was last night in New York City at the Children's Choice Book Awards, put on by the Children's Book Council.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: All right. Here is the Author of the Year Award that I received last night at the Children's Choice Book Awards, from Children's Book Council. What it says... I'm gonna turn it around here just a second. This is heavy. This is really, really heavy. It is glass in the shape of a book here on top of the stand. It says, "Rush Limbaugh, for Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims: Time-Travel Adventures with Exceptional Americans -- Author of the Year."

Now I'll turn it around and show it to you. You won't be able to read it, but there it is. It is really nice. I sent notes out to people last night saying that I'd won the award, and they said, "Oh, you won a Bookie," as in a Grammy, as in an Oscar. The Children's Choice Award, a Bookie. I'll put this with all the other awards, the other two. (chuckling) No, how many Marconis are there, three or four out there? We do have a little trophy case.